Father Amaro Saumell is the
pastor of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Church in Crestline, California. He began
his religious education at Holy Apostles College and Seminary, later attending St.
Johns Seminary in Camarillo, California for his graduate work. Father Amaro
was ordained to the priesthood in July of 1992.

ITalways amazes me that the press and the current
populace cannot really understand what celibacy is all about. Actually, it is quite
simple. A vow of celibacy means simply that one vows not to marry.
Period. So, what are the implications?

WELL, if one is in an unmarried state, his or
her responsibility is to abstain from the biological and emotional function of genital
expression of sexuality. Genital expression in its fullest human integrity is to
express a unitive desire or expression and for the procreation of life... a life that
deserves to be born into a stable, committed relationship with a mother and father.
That is called the chaste relationship of matrimony. Since the celibate
person is not married, he or she would refrain from such activity. This is called
the chastity of the unmarried state. Unless one is called to a married
state, the chastity in ones life is abstinence. While the married
person finds the freedom to commit to spouse and family life, the celibate finds freedom
in the single life to serve and be available to many. In religious life or priesthood,
this freedom is used to make oneself available to bring the gospel and the sacraments to
all... to be available. The true celibate priest does not strive to be a
"professional." He strives to be "available."

CHASTITY does not mean that one denies his or her
gender or sexuality. For one who makes the promise of celibacy, it is imperative to
have the self knowledge that one owns a gender. Genders have certain integrity.

SEMINARY training is not what it used to be.
In years past, sexuality and discussions thereof were avoided. This is probably a
result of the Jansenist heresy that crept into the Church for many years. Anything
having to do with sexuality was dirty or sinful. We finally
came to terms with the fact that sexuality is good. It is the way sexuality is
expressed, which can be appropriate or inappropriate, virtuous or sinful.

AS a seminarian, I was required to go
through what was called Celibacy Modules. These were unheard of years
ago, but were very helpful for todays seminarian. After all, were
celibate, not dead. But the celibate life does not mean that impulses magically
disappear. Celibacy calls one to adult sexuality as opposed to the adolescent
sexuality of impulse, objectivity, and exploitation. These modules went even
further. I remember very clearly that there might come a time when I realized
emotionally that I would never have children. Of course I knew this intellectually, but I
was being prepared for the inevitable. Reproduction is part of sexuality.

Iremember one day when I was presiding over a preliminary rite for the
children who would be receiving First Communion. In this rite, I was to pray over each
child. Imagine looking down at the ever so clear eyes of so many children one at a
time. It hit me! I had to pause for a moment as the tears welled up in my
eyes. My memory flashed to the Celibacy Module. I had been warned. This was a
normal part of my being a man. I could handle it. It was the perfect time to remind
parents of the gift they had in their children. It was perfect time for me to
recognize in those parents that remarkable gift of their Sacrament of Holy Matrimony and
that this was their love walking around on two feet.

SEXUALITY is expressed in gender
relationships. We are raised (hopefully, by two parents, one male and one female).
We have same sex gender relationships and opposite sex gender relationships.
We have a mother and a father. We might even have a brother and a sister. We
absorb certain traits from each parent, and possibly, our siblings. How we deal with
these relationships will affect us the rest of our lives. As we grow, we deal with
the different genders accordingly- with respect for the person and the gender.

FORmany years in the Catholic Church, seminarians
started their training very early in life, completely separated from the other
gender. It is no wonder to me that many found themselves with an arrested sexual
development. They went from high school seminary to college seminary to their
graduate work in Theology... study, study, study! There was no gender
interaction.Thus, we have the scandals of today. But things have changed. When one
attempts to enter the seminary, psychological testing is a must. Adolescence is a
time of desiring control of ones environment, even if it means controlling another
person. Adolescent sexuality is also controlling. Psychological testing weeds
out those with control issues before they can move on to the seminary or worse, to parish
ministry. Upon examination of the John Jay report given this year, one cannot help
to notice the sharp decline in the sexual abuse of priests around the time psychological
testing was introduced. Of course, this introduction wasnt uniformly
introduced throughout the country, so it is not immediate on a large scale. But the
graphs are very telling.

MY own experience of priests Ive known
who have had this dysfunction has been through personal conversation and observation.
For the most part, they did not have any training in sexuality or celibacy.
Celibacy, when mentioned, was some sort of lofty existence through which grace was
magically supposed to have been bestowed. There was no psychological testing for
control problems. To me, that explains the rigid personality that sought to control
anything it could, resulting in the most innocent children. Or, I have seen what
could possibly be the opposite. That would be the priest who was so far off base
theologically into the liberal realm that he could rationalize that his behavior was
acceptable because sin didnt exist. Either way, it was a control issue.
The thing that needed control itself the most through maturity was never addressed-
and that was self.

INorder to gain self-control, one must be willing to
face the truth about oneself. Many times, we were encouraged to abandon the idea of
entering into ministry if we could not be humble enough to examine ourselves in
truth. We were exposed to the fact that we all carry some kind of dysfunction, and
some of that dysfunction could be in the sexual sphere, often as a symptom of another
serious problem. We were informed of how those problems could affect our ministry.
There was continual examination of self. And if one is really healthy, one
never abandons this examination.

SEMINARIANS are encouraged to have a social life
before entering the seminary. They are encouraged to learn abut themselves and how
they respond to genders in society. Relationship is just that- the ability to
relate... appropriately.

BUT nothing is fool-proof. Every
seminarian today is educated concerning those who would want to save them from
a life of celibacy- as if celibacy was a curse! This is more likely to be a common
occurrence rather than a remote one. Although our training cannot prevent this from
happening, it surely does make us aware of the possibility. The seminarian who
thinks he knows all about it from the beginning needs to think again. I was a
professional entertainer before I entered the seminary. I thought I pretty much had
a handle on it. Even with the education, it can be a real difficulty. Priests
are sitting ducks today for anything that can be an imagined reality,
resulting in accusations. And all accusations are investigated diligently.

IF one truly believes that Jesus is the
truth the way and the life, one will embrace the complete truth concerning his
possible weaknesses. Celibacy modules open the door to humility, which is the
embrace of truth. You are male! You will be attracted to females and
they will be attracted to you. Its life.

THEN there is the homosexual candidate, who
may even come in earnest to the seminary. He feels that since he has no attraction
to females, he can spend his energies chastely by offering his life for ministry.
And then comes the surprise. He finds himself in a closed environment with over a hundred
men! If he is not emotionally mature, chastity will be a real issue, especially since
there will be others with the same motivation... and weakness. The Celibacy modules
even address this phenomenon, no matter how uncomfortable it may be to hear.

WHILEcelibacy modules assisted in keeping us in touch
with out weaknesses and strengths, it could only be illustrated in theory. The test
is only known through the integrity or lack thereof of the seminarian. And there
are challenges. We become in touch with our gentler side and use it in
ministry. For example, I had to learn that I could not speak only to one half of the
congregation. I spoke as a man. I had to learn to speak to the women as
well as the men. That would mean that I had to express that feminine side of myself in
order to get the message across of the good news. While Ive been successful in
the message, Ive found that theres nothing more attractive to a certain
element of women and men than compassion and gentleness. Here we go again. I
can be a target to be saved. Still, I cannot stop using communication
skills because of the misinterpretation of a few. Celibacy calls a man to be strong.
However, if a man chooses to be the sign of strength all the time, he find himself
only communicating with the male element that thrives on the cosmetic appearance of
strength.

THE answer is awareness when one is called to
a life of celibacy, just as it is when one is called to the Sacrament of Holy
Matrimony. Celibacy Modules give great attention to awareness. No, they
dont make life fool proof. But they greatly enhance the openness to what human
nature is all about at many different levels and in many different dimensions. Those
who are open to this awareness will find that they can live a commitment, even with its
temptations as long as they are willing to be aware. We know, just as married men
who wear a band on their finger (often seen as a health certificate) that we can live a
commitment of chastity and discipline in our celibate life.

MOST important to the celibate is the call to
spirituality, his relationship with God. That means practicing a discipline, being a
disciple. Discipline is a way of living an ordered life. An ordered life
avoids chaos. An ordered life brings some sense of peace into ones life.
That order must come from the One who calls another into priesthood. When one
makes the decision to pick and choose in his faith, a red flag is raised because he will
rationalize any behavior that suits him for the moment. We priests take a vow of
obedience. If we compromise the integrity of obedience in one area of our lives, it
will be that much easier to do it in another and merely call it human.
Isnt that where sin is found? Isnt that why Jesus came to show us a
better way? If one rationalizes sin, surely he should not be in ministry until he
understands what reconciliation is. There is a reason why we say during the mass,
By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of
Christ who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.

I Love You, Lord

And I lift my voice

To worship You

O my soul, rejoice!

Take joy, My King,
In what You hear,

May it be a sweet, sweet sound

In Your ear.

I love You, Lord

And I lift my hands

To worship You

As my soul demands

Take joy, my King, in what You see,

May I be a sweet, sweet child

On Your knees.Words and music by Laurie Klein

Please use the Comments/Mailing
List link at the top left side of page for your comments or to be added to the mailing
list. May God bless you always. Publisher - CatholicView